Lujan Grisham first won election to the U.S. House in 2012. She defeated Eric Griego and Marty Chavez in the June 5 Democratic primary.[2] She then overtook Republican Janice Arnold-Jones and write-in challenger Jeanne Pahls in the general election on November 5, 2013.[3]

Lujan Grisham is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014.The general election took place November 4, 2014.

A 12th generation New Mexican and granddaughter of Eugene Lujan, who was the first Hispanic Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, Lujan Grisham's public service career began soon after her graduation from law school at the University of Mexico in 1987.[4] She fought elder abuse as an attorney and then in her capacity as the head of New Mexico's State Agency on Aging, to which she was appointed by former Gov. Bruce King. She went on to serve in another appointed position, as head of the State Health Department. Prior to assuming her seat in Congress, she had served as the elected Bernalillo County Commissioner since 2011.[5]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Lujan Grisham is one of the most reliable Democratic votes, meaning she can be considered a safe vote for the Democratic Party in Congress.

Biography

Lujan Grisham was born in Los Alamos and raised in Santa Fe. She holds a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of New Mexico. She served as Bernalillo County Commissioner and president of a health insurance consulting business. Previously, she was the appointed head of New Mexico's Department of Health.[4]

Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations

Issues

Legislative action

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[7] For more information pertaining to Lujan Grisham's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[8]

National security

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

Lujan Grisham voted in opposition of HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[9]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Lujan Grisham voted in support of House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[9]

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Lujan Grisham voted in support of HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[10] The bill was largely supported by Republicans but divided the Democratic Party.[9]

National Defense Authorization Act

Lujan Grisham voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[9]

Economy

Federal Statutory Pay Adjustment Elimination

Lujan Grisham voted in opposition of HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees. The bill passed the House on February 15, 2013, with a vote of 261 - 154. The bill would prevent a 0.5% pay increase for all federal workers from taking effect, saving the federal government $11 billion over 10 years. Clay was 1 of 144 Democrats who opposed the bill, while 44 voted for it.[11][9]

Immigration

Morton Memos Enforcement Prohibition

Lujan Grisham voted in opposition of House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States. The vote largely followed party lines.[12][9]

Healthcare

Health Care Reform Rules

Lujan Grisham voted in opposition of House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[13][9]

Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act

Lujan Grisham voted in opposition of HR 2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013. The bill passed through the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 232-185. The bill would prevent the IRS and Treasury Secretary from enforcing the powers provided to them in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote largely followed party lines.[13][9]

Social issues

Amash amendemnt

Lujan Grisham voted in support of House Amendment 413 - Prohibits the National Security Agency from Collecting Records Under the Patriot Act. The amendment failed on July 4, 2013 by a vote of 205-217. The amendment would have prohibited the collection of records by the National Security Agency under the PATRIOT Act. Both parties were split on the vote.[9]

Campaign themes

2012

According to her website, Lujan Grishman's campaign platform included the following issues[14]:

Legislative actions

113th Congress

Social issues

SNAP challenge

In June 2013, more than two dozen HouseDemocrats, including Lujan Grisham, took part in a SNAP challenge, feeding themselves for a week on the average benefit level of a SNAP recipient.[15] Participants agreed to eat all meals from a limited food budget comparable to that of a SNAP participant, approximately $1.50 per meal, or $4.50 a day.[16]

Elections

2014

Lujan Grisham is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If she runs, she will seek the Democratic nomination in the primary election on June 3, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Endorsements

Lujan Grisham was endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus, Women's Campaign Fund, the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico's firefighters union and the state pharmacists union, among others.[18] A full list is available on her website.

Polls

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Lujan Grisham is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Lujan Grisham raised a total of $1,754,730 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 22, 2013.[21]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Grisham's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Grisham won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Grisham's campaign committee raised a total of $1,754,730 and spent $1,745,037.[23] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[24]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Lujan Grisham missed 4 of 108 roll call votes from January 2013 to April 2013. This amounts to 3.7%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving as of April 2013. [26]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Grisham's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $251,005 to $699,999. That averages to $475,502, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2011 of $5,107,874.[27]

Voting with party

2013

Michelle Lujan Grisham voted with the Democratic Party 95.5% of the time, which ranked 33 among the 201 House Democratic members as of June 2013.[28]

Personal

Lujan Grisham is a single mother of two daughters, Taylor and Erin. Her husband passed away in 2004.[5]

Recent news

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